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can a contractor put a lien on a homeowner if the home owner paid them in full?

me homeower paid Rick stanko $7,000 cash on hand for driveway blacktop work. I recieved notice for lien from superior concrete. rick stanko has not paid them. superior concrete,so they superior concrete are filing prelimenary lien on us. Is that even possible?

2 replies

Feb 17, 2020

Yes, a supplier can file a California mechanics lien even if the general contractor was fully paid by the project owner. California is considered what's called a "full price" lien state. Meaning, subcontractors and suppliers are entitled to file a mechanics lien for the full amount of what they're owed, regardless of whether the owner paid the GC. And, unfortunately for an owner, this means sometimes they may end up having to pay twice. Of course, an owner isn't alone in handling a supplier's lien claim. In fact, the California Civil Code requires that a contractor defend the project's property owner if a sub or supplier pursues a mechanics lien claim at § 8470. Plus, other legal claims could be available against a contractor too. Because of this duty to defend and the potential legal claims, an owner should be able to force their contractor to resolve the potential lien claim before the dispute gets too serious. Additionally, an owner could also pay the would-be claimant then go after their contractor who failed to pay. Finally, I think these resources might also be helpful in addition to the above: - I Just Received a Notice of Intent to Lien – What Should I Do Now? - A Mechanics Lien Was Filed on My Property – What Do I Do Now?

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Feb 21, 2020

It depends. Yes, if Superior Concrete sent you a "20 Day Preliminary Notice" that they were supplying materials for the job. The notice would have given you warnings about mechanic's liens, and would likely have arrived by certified mail. Also, the lien would have had to be recorded with your county within 90 days of completion of the project.... No, if Superior Concrete didn't send you the above notice, and it's been more than 20 days since Superior provided materials and/or labor they are saying they haven't been paid for. If you received the 20 day notice, there are steps you could have taken to protect yourself from a mechanic's lien from Superior (write the check to both Rick Stanko AND Superior Concrete, or get a release from Superior, etc.). More info here: https://www.levelset.com/blog/how-to-file-mechanics-lien-california/#8_Sign_verify_your_California_lien

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